Northern bald ibis

Key identifying features

1. 1

   Bare red-skinned head with a shaggy ruff of long loose feathers on the nape

2. 2

   Plumage looks black at distance but glosses green, purple and bronze in sunlight

3. 3

   Long, thick, downcurved red bill and short red legs

4. 4

   Flies in flocks with neck outstretched and steady wingbeats, told from black stork by its short legs and curved bill

5. 5

   Breeds colonially on steep cliff ledges by the Euphrates and is almost always seen in groups

Bird